Played Friday, 8/14, at 2:45 with APisarski. Price was about $115 each, a bit high, but as I understand it, common here. Smooth check in, cart grab, and off to the 1st tee. The 2some we were paired wi... Continue »

Played Friday, 8/14, at 2:45 with APisarski. Price was about $115 each, a bit high, but as I understand it, common here. Smooth check in, cart grab, and off to the 1st tee. The 2some we were paired with was already off so we tracked until 10, then paired up. There was a tourney out ahead (which we knew about when we booked), which may have caused the slower front 9, but the back opened and finished just about 4 hours. This was my 1st time here and was really impressed. This course was pretty fun to play, with lots of elevation. Unfortunately due to the fires, the Pacific was covered but I could see the peaks on Catalina and San Clemente Islands. Playing in the dead of summer during the hottest weekend, the course was playing firm and fast. Fairways were tight but not thin. Fairway rough was about 1-2 inches with kikuyu around the greens. Sand was a little thin but not bad for the late afternoon. I loved the greens, fast and mostly smooth. Loved the course. Price was a bit steep but I know it's the going OC rate. I definitely would recommend. **I see it rated 7.4, probably closer to an 8

Played this AM. Just under 4 H POP. Place was packed. Golfers arriving before tee times and causing chaos at starter. 1st tee time is 7 AM? Perhaps they should modify that? Once on the course players ... Continue »

Played this AM. Just under 4 H POP. Place was packed. Golfers arriving before tee times and causing chaos at starter. 1st tee time is 7 AM? Perhaps they should modify that? Once on the course players seemed to be aware of POP and that was a good thing. Course is in great shape, just over watered due to recent heat wave. Tee boxes were all fine. Fairways were lush/green but very wet so no roll at all. Never had a bad lie. Bunkers (no rakes) were actually playable and heard no complaints. Lots of rough (1 in) and OB + water to contend with if not hitting it straight. Greens were all great and chipped/putted and held shots just fine all round. And had good speed. Customer service excellent at all levels. 1 per cart (OC ules). Masks at check in and at starter only. Snack bar open only. Cart service was out and about.

Back to one of my favorite courses in the OC for a Guru round with Johnny and others. Played a GK Cup match with Johnny and were joined by gary00 and aakes90278 – thanks to Gary and Michael for an enj... Continue »

Back to one of my favorite courses in the OC for a Guru round with Johnny and others. Played a GK Cup match with Johnny and were joined by gary00 and aakes90278 – thanks to Gary and Michael for an enjoyable round. Based on other GK reviews, we might have been holding up the GK group behind us with our pace – sorry about that, guys! Sunny, warm weather with a little bit of breeze made for a pleasant afternoon.

As others noted, course conditions were good – greens were slowed down just a touch from some other previous visits where downhill putts could be terrifying. But I thought they rolled great and held shots well. Fairway lies were good and rough was not too deep to lose balls or be impossible to recover from. I was in 3 bunkers and sand was a little damp but easily playable, with problems only in areas that had a lot of earlier play (footprints).Tees were no problem.

We played White and tee markers were pushed to the front of many boxes, so it’s likely we came in under the 6.000+ yards listed on the card. A couple of strategic bunkers have been removed, including the fairway bunker in the middle of #14. GPS was good – an earlier review said they had been removed, but cart guy told me only some units had been removed to repair wiring. New carts scheduled to be delivered in July – we’ll see if the GPS units remain – they are very useful here.

Always a great day with other GKers, and BG is a favored stop. Recommended.

Played 6-25-20 early afternoon with Matt, Jim, and Steve all in individual carts and getting around the course in a little over 4 1/2 hours with some waiting on most holes. Tee boxes were in decent sh... Continue »

Played 6-25-20 early afternoon with Matt, Jim, and Steve all in individual carts and getting around the course in a little over 4 1/2 hours with some waiting on most holes. Tee boxes were in decent shape, semi-lush and mostly level with minimal divot damage on par threes. Fairways were in very nice condition, lush with good coverage and nice lies with good padding. Rough was cut very low for the most part with some thin and bare spots in some areas. Was in two greenside bunkers, both of which had very nicely groomed white sand. Greens were rolling smooth and true and holding shots nicely. Overall course is in really nice shape, and worth a try.

Played 6/24 with the GK Gurus. POP around 4:15

Not a whole lot to add from previous reviews...

The course was, in general, in very good to great shape. The highlight of the round was playing a c... Continue »

Played 6/24 with the GK Gurus. POP around 4:15

Not a whole lot to add from previous reviews...

The course was, in general, in very good to great shape. The highlight of the round was playing a course with ample sand in their bunkers which has not been the case in the area since they’re largely ignored because of Covid restrictions.

The tees, fairways, and greens were all very good. Some fairways were being resodded, but only in places you should never find yourself, so no downmarks from me for it. The greens ran very smooth but were a touch slower than they looked. The rough was healthy, with a few bare spots of most of the holes, usually near the cart path.

Overall a good day, friendly staff, and great people.

6/25 guru outing with Johnny, David and Mike very enjoyable time on a nice day and an overall nice course. Not much to add to all the previous reviews from the outing. Enjoyed the condition of the f... Continue »

6/25 guru outing with Johnny, David and Mike very enjoyable time on a nice day and an overall nice course. Not much to add to all the previous reviews from the outing. Enjoyed the condition of the fairways as to the lies provided even if it meant sacrificing some distance. Rough mostly shortish and not thick except for some pockets still short but grabby. Tees ok. Bunkers have good sand and appear to be groomed daily but showed the effects of traffic by mid day.
Greens rolled medium speed and were generally smooth.
Check in was easy and friendly. Layout gives good variety of holes. Due to the rolling nature of the course expect quite a few uneven stances.

Played Black Gold yesterday with fellow GK Gurus 6/25 as well as a GK Cup Match. Been about a year since playing this course. I normally don’t like to space it out that far apart given how much I like... Continue »

Played Black Gold yesterday with fellow GK Gurus 6/25 as well as a GK Cup Match. Been about a year since playing this course. I normally don’t like to space it out that far apart given how much I like it. Felt great to be out there. My foursome was dconnally, gary00 and aakes90278.

From the onset this place was busy as you could tell the local community of Yorba Linda was happy to have the full facilities open again. Driving range was spaced for COVID-19 precautions and face masks were required while in the proshop.

As sparky14 noted in his review and I agree, the fairways were as lush as I’ve ever seen them and I have been playing Black Gold Golf Club since 2003. I have to applaud Black Gold once again for making the decision years ago to go through the painful long transition from a bermunda/rye grass fairway turf to an all kikuyu as it has certainly paid off in the long run.

Greens in very good shape as expected however not as firm and fast as I normally experience. Most golfers probably like that as these greens are very challenging and your short game has to be spot on to negotiate difficult bunkers and most of all tough lies out of the kikuyu rough. I was greenside in two on hole 4. Had a tough delicate in kikuyu downhill lie, thinned it a little, ran through the green, another difficult pitch, two putts, walked away with a 6.

Rough, lush and my comment above pretty much sums it up. Hit the greens in regulation to avoid the super tough kikuyu pitch shots is a premium.

Bunkers, greens side sand, fluffy white and beautiful. Fairways bunkers, little firm and in good shape. This is exactly how I like a golf course bunkers to be. I need the soft stuff around the greens and the more firm stuff in the fairways.

Tee boxes, we played the white tees, my first time playing the white tees there, they are certainly the most popular tees at Black Gold. They were in good shape, not great, mostly lush and level. However when I glanced at the blue tees while driving by they were more lush and level.

Final note: 18 is simply one of the best finishing holes around. Not just because of its risk/reward par 5 design and beauty but because you finish with a gallery from the clubhouse patio looking on. Gary00 got an applause when his shot from the fairway looked like it was going to roll into the hole. Loved that. Its not every day daily fee golfers can get that rush of hitting shots with onlookers cheering. Heck we got more fans watching us than the PGA Tour now! – LOL

Check out the photos I posted.

Highly Recommended.

Out with the GK group, 6/25, on a warm day with some swirling winds coming up through the canyons. First time here and my initial impression was a good one. Seems like a nice facility, smallish range,... Continue »

Out with the GK group, 6/25, on a warm day with some swirling winds coming up through the canyons. First time here and my initial impression was a good one. Seems like a nice facility, smallish range, putting green behind the clubhouse, nice clubhouse/restaurant area. Once on the course conditions were good with the greens being the highlight. Big contoured greens that rolled smooth, on the fast side, a bit firm in spots and tricky. Loved the way the greens rolled but could not read them well enough to make anything from any distance. Bunkers were in good shape with a nice playable surface, fairways were great to play from, rough varied I did find a few thick spots, layout is fun, interesting and certainly makes you think (although IMHO the design was a bit ambitious making some areas difficult for the grounds crew to maintain and most likley in some areas a major undertaking), my cart had no GPS others did, but when everyone gets their own cart they needed to pull out the extras (mine had a logo from a Palm Springs area GC on it). Staff seemed accommodating, friendly and saw the snack cart multiple times. Upstairs snack bar was open and looked busy.
Overall a fun track with nice facilities in good condition worth a play.

Played BG with the GK Gurus on 6/25. Another fun day with the group, glad we are finally able to start these outings again. I thought the course was in very good condition. Greens were smooth, quick, ... Continue »

Played BG with the GK Gurus on 6/25. Another fun day with the group, glad we are finally able to start these outings again. I thought the course was in very good condition. Greens were smooth, quick, but still very receptive to full shots. We did see a couple of unexpectedly firm bounce on chips. Saw a couple of minor semi-bare spots on a couple of greens, but they were well away from the cups.

Fairways were the best I have seen them here. I saw a recent review that thought the fairways should have been mowed tighter for more roll. I have the alternate view, I don't mind thicker fairways. I much prefer hitting off a layer of soft grass versus hitting off a hard ground. The fairways now are much more to my liking. Rough and tee boxes were good.

It appears that they have been adding sand to the greenside bunkers, so those are nice and fluffy. The fairways bunkers haven't added sand yet, so those are more paced dirt.

Black Gold still continues to get a highly recommended rating from me. It is a fun course to play, and usually in good condition.

First time playing off the white tees here, and that makes for a stranger course. Should have taken the driver out of my hands many times, but I am much more confident in my driver and that brought some unnecessary trouble into play.

Do take precautions to protect yourself as best you can here. The range and clubhouse area was packed all afternoon, may have been a high school age tournament although I didn't see them on the course. Many of the youngster had face masks, but many did not even in the clubhouse. Busy place.